Asked by: Lord Howard of Rising (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much money is owed to HM Revenue and Customs by those whom they have contacted repeatedly to pay what they owe, as described in paragraph 2.4 of the HM Revenue and Customs report Direct Recovery of Debts published on 6 May 2014.
Answered by Lord Deighton
The additional tax revenue HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) expects to collect through the use of this policy is represented in Table 2.1 of the Budget 2014 document.
As set out in paragraph 2.12 of the Direct Recovery of Debts consultation document, HMRC estimates that this measure will apply to around 17,000 debtors a year, who have an average of £5,800 in tax and tax credit debts and around £20,000 in their bank and building society accounts.
Asked by: Lord Howard of Rising (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what value of fines remained unpaid at the end of financial years 2009–10, 2010–11 and 2011–12 (1) in total, and (2) with respect to fines issued in that financial year.
Answered by Lord Deighton
We have answered this question on the basis that it relates to HMRC penalties.
1) 2009-10 £0.5 billion
2010-11 £1.5 billion
2011-12 £1.5 billion
Fines and Penalties that remain unpaid are included as receivables and are reported in both the Resource Accounts and Trust Statement.
2) It is not possible to state the value of fines issued in each of the financial years. The question is very broad in scope and covers the majority of the business of the Department. Some data is held in electronic systems and some in paper files, and records are not kept centrally of the value of fines issued across the Department and across all obligations.
Asked by: Lord Howard of Rising (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much money was repaid to taxpayers as a result of overcharging by HM Revenue and Customs in each of 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12 and 2012–13.
Answered by Lord Deighton
The information is not available as HM Revenue and Customs does not collect information on amounts underpaid or overpaid.
For many of the taxes that HM Revenue and Customs is responsible for such as income tax and corporation tax, taxpayers are required by law to make payments on account before the ultimate tax liability for the year is known. This can result in overpayments, in which case the taxpayer would be due a refund once the final liability was known. But it can also result in underpayments, in which case HMRC would seek to collect the additional amount owed.
In either case, interest may be due to HMRC or to the taxpayer according to the statutory rates.